this morning on "early today," strategy shift. mitt romney backs off his 47% remarks while president obama sharpens his attacks. deadly exchange. an american tourist opens fire at an israeli seaside resort. leap of faith. tense moments as a mother and her five kids arforced to jump from a building. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning. i'm lynn berry. the two candidates are busy attacking each other on the campaign trail following their first debate. today president obama will be campaigning in virginia and ohio and mitt romney is in virginia.

governor romney boasted about his debate performance and told supporters he will take back the white house, but for the first time romney backed away from his controversial remarks about the 47% of americans who don't pay federal income taxes. he was asked what he would have said if that had come up in debate. >> clearly in a campaign with hundreds if not thousands of speeches and question and answer sessions, now and then you're going to say something that doesn't come out right. in this case i said something that's just completely wrong. i absolutely believe, however, that my life has shown that i care about 100%. >> president obama campaigned in wisconsin and sharply criticized romney's statements during the debate on tax cuts, education and outsourcing as misleading to the middle class, and the president had this to say about his opponent's plan for reducing the deficit. >> i just want to make sure i

got this straight. he'll get rid of regulations on wall street but he's going to crack down on sesame street. thank goodness somebody's finally cracking down on big bird. who knew that he was responsible for all these deficits. elmo's got to watch out. >> and vice president joe biden was campaigning in iowa saying that mitt romney flip-flopped on his own tax cut plan that was the centerpiece of the gop campaign and biden challenged the republicans on the tax issue. >> you know the phrase he always uses, obama and biden want to raise taxes by a trillion dollars. guess what, yes, we do, in one regard, we want to let that trillion dollar tax cut expire so the middle class doesn't have to bear the burden of all that money going to the super wealthy. that's not a tax raise, that's

called fairness where i come from. >> all right. so how will today's monthly jobs report impact the candidates? economists predict the unemployment rate could tick up from 8.1 to 8.2% which could be bad news for president obama. nbc's brian mooar has the latest from washington for us. brian, good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, lynn. it probably won't be great news for either of the political candidates, but it could be worse. today's jobs report is the second to the last before election day. it is a critical snapshot of an economy that's been stuck in low gear. >> whatever the numbers are, the romney campaign is going to cite them as evidence that president obama's policies are failing. >> the president is trying to convince people he's doing real well. he is not. >> reporter: building on a momentum of wednesday night's debate, romney's trying to reverse his fortunes in battlegrounds like ohio where he's fallen behind. >> under president obama we've lost half a million manufacturing jobs and china has passed us in manufacturing. >> reporter: the president

argues the republicans are offering nothing new. >> it's not a plan for our economy, it's not a plan to strengthen the middle class, it is not change, it is a relapse and we're not going to do it. >> reporter: the latest jobs report, cold, hard facts certain to be the subject of a heated debate. and the next jobs report comes out just four days before the election. lynn? >> all right, brian, thank you. we begin in new jersey with one family's dramatic escape from a fast-moving fire. a surveillance camera was rolling when a mother and her five kids jumped from their third floor apartment. luckily a few good samaritans were there to help soften the landings. it turns outman's best friend was behind a suspected burglary. who would have thought. when bruce's cell phone received a call from his home phone, he

heard scratching and banging. so he thought he was being robbed. he called police. officers didn't find anyone in the house, but bruce later learned his dog had gotten ahold of the cordless phone and hit redial in the midst of chewing on it. finally, folks in rhode island are putting the finishing touches on a spectacular celebration of halloween. thousands of jack-o'-lanterns carved with classic movie titles and scenes. the artistic pumpkins will be lined all along a trail inside roger williams zoo. now for a look at today's weather, we check in with nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. why are you shaking your head? >> i have no artistic talent whatsoever. >> that's a little reaching for the stars. let's keep it basic. you can do triangles and circles. >> i always chop the teeth off. good morning. the weather pattern has featured

a lot of warmth. that changed yesterday in north dakota, from fargo to grand forks, the first snowstorm of the season arrived in the northern plains. three to five inches of heavy wet snow. it did knock out power for some. that system brought down a chunk of gold air that invade add good portion of the country including the northern rockies and all the way through the midwest. we're still pretty warm. the eastern seaboard is very warm as we go through this friday. as far as the wet weather goes, not a lot of wet weather to deal with. a little bit in colorado with snowshowers and rain showers. this is the only weather feature that's going to move into the west over the up coming weekend. it's going to drift that way. increasing clouds, especially high clouds that will keep temperatures cooler this weekend. we're going from well above average to near average temperatures in the west as we go throughout the upcoming weekend. today, starting off. it stays a little chilly. a little chunk of cold

airheading for the central plains. the cool air didn't make it into the mountain areas towards you. it stayed off towards your east. this is one of the warmest spots in the country as we go throughout the upcoming weekend. your forecast for today, absolutely splendid, busful weather in the northwest. it should benow we're starting of the cooler air down through the central valley, too. should enjoy the 80s instead of the 90s. weekend forecast coming up. looks like no issues. >> great. breaking news. israeli police kill an american at a hotel shooting. plus feds bust a crime ring that stole almost half a billion of your money. working with the enemy.

new meyer khan idol judge is beefing up her security detail. that's not all she told barbara walters. you're watching "early today."

>> welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. right now an american man has been killed by israeli forces after opening fire at a popular seaside resort. the suspect apparently grabbed a gun from a security officer, then fatally shot a hotel chef. authorities believe the gunman was a former hotel employee. the deadly fungal meningitis outbreak has now claimed five lives. 35 cases are being reported in six states. the latest, indiana. and people in 23 states who received steroid injections for back pain are being warned they, too, could be at risk. doctors and nurses are among 91 people charged nationwide in a massive medicare fraud case. the government says it was

billed more than $400 million in bogus claims. well, new rules for secret service agents after that drunken partying at a colombian hotel back in april. the "washington post" has learned the agents are now banned from drinking at the hotel where their protectee is staying. also, no more drinking 10 hours before a shift and sharing sensitive information online could get you fired. check this out. in australia three dozen giant dishes were unveiled today. together they form the world's fastest radio telescope. officials hope to discover 700,000 new super galaxies and could pick up signals before earth existed. a new study finds that offering free birth control can dramatically lower the rate of abortion. researchers who gave women free contraception for three years saw cases of abortion drop from

66% to 75% below the national level. these findings could impact this year's election. mitt romney has pledged to repeal the affordable care act which requires insurance to cover contraceptive costs. now to wall street. the dow closed at 13,575 after gaining 80 points yesterday. the s&p was up ten, the nasdaq added 14. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei inched up 38 points while in hong song the hang seng climbed 104. the s&p is on the cusp of a five-year high. barring any surprises from september's jobs report, it could hit that high today. experts predict about 115,000 jobs were added last month. weekly claims ticked slightly higher yesterday. on thursday, coal companies rallied after republican mitt romney gave coal a shout-out during wednesday night's presidential debate.

troubling data paints a bleak picture of market confidence. according to one trade group, investors have pulled some $138 billion of investments and stocks since 2009 while funneling 1 trillion into less risky bonds. overseas today, samsung reported record quarterly profit. facebook is celebrating surpassing 1 billion users this month. meanwhile, social gamer zynga lowered its 2012 outlook for the second time this year. two days after loose seats prompted emergency inspections at american airlines, dozens more flights are being canceled to allow for additional repairs. in california gas prices shot up as much as 30 cents overnight while some station's supplies have dried up entirely thanks to refinery and pipeline problems. meanwhile, in canada 16 trailer loads of stolen maple syrup were escorted back to the warehouse in quebec. a barrel of the sticky commodity costs more than oil. meanwhile, a bitter sweet problem in france where bees

were producing honey in startling shades of blue and green. well, it turns out an m&m candy biogas plant nearby was the source of the artificial coloring. and finally, only in new york do kids pay a baby-sitter to hold their phone. that's right. the devices aren't allowed at school so this company parks outside and holds their phone during class for $1 a day. well, coming up, the rams down the cards, a college football comeback and a boxing first. plus, a special blood-soaked sock could be up for sale. your sports headlines are straight ahead. i don't even think i'd buy it if it was a yankee pitcher with a bloody sock. well, your forecast for the weekend has temperatures tumbling on the eastern seaboard. it should be pretty nice. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. this is "early today." in sports, the arizona cardinals started 4-0 for the first time in 38 years but could not notch number five against the rams last night. first drive, rams quarterback sam bradford airs it out to danny amendola who makes a one arm grab. not bad. the cardinals surrendered nine sacks on the night. st. louis won it 17-3. in college football, usc fought back from a 14-point deficit to

beat utah 38-28 last night. usc quarterback matt barkley led the trojans to victory with 303 yards and three touchdowns. to baseball now where the boston red sox have fired manager bobby valentine. the sox went 69 and 93 in his only year in boston, that's the club's worst season since 1965. in hockey, the nhl has canceled all regular season games through october 24th. that's 82 games. world boxing organization latino feather weight champion orlando cruz came out as the first active openly gay boxer in the history of the sport. finally, would you buy this, former boston red sox pitcher curt schilling might have to sell or give up the famed bloodstained sock he wore on the teep's run to the 2004 world series championship, all to cover millions in loans he guaranteed to his failed video game company.

>> announcer: "early today" sports is brought to you by new just for men autostop. gray is over. another star behind bars, and which film will audiences be taken with this weekend? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus an update on the san diego zoo's cutest 9-week-old. that's true. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early

today." your friday forecast looks nice. and it will look very familiar throughout the weekend. not much change in the west, cooler temperatures in california compared to lately. watch these temperatures. they don't move much. 61 in boys see and sunny. 71 in medford. i'll change the saturday forecast, exactly the same for both of those two cities. as we go into sunday. extra clouds in california but we continue with temperatures right where they should be for this time of year. >> if you're watching us on nbc 4 in los angeles california, from pythons to geckos, even scorpions see over 60 species of amphibians at the lair. all right, bill. thanks so much. and now for some entertainment news. despite negative reviews, liam neeson's kidnapping thriller "taken 2" is expected to take

the number one spot with around $44 million. tim burton's stop motion animation "frankenweenie" has had strong reviews and is expected to open with around $17 million and the musical comedy "pitch perfect" could open to the tune of around $16.5 million. well, on "the view" barbara walters said mariah carey told her by phone that she's beefed up security after fellow "american idol" judge nicki minaj was overheard saying if she had a gun she would shoot her. minaj denies the story. >> i wonder if this is true and actually happening. >> you were skeptical. daryl hannah was arrested in texas thursday while protesting the production of an oil pipeline. and finally, just because we can't get enough of him, south korean rapper psy decided to take that shirt off during a concert in seoul even though his hip gangnam style has yet to reach number one on the billboard chart. he said when it reached a billion he would take off his shirt. he couldn't wait. we showed you now. >> what's happening next when he hits number one? >> we're hoping just a shock.

let's keep it g rated. this comes to us from san diego where there is good news for one of the zoo's most adorable attractions. it is a brand new world for the giant panda cub who is tiny. now that his eyes and ears are finally open, the 9-week-old is taking in the sights and sounds for the very first time. the examination ending quicker than the last. he received a clean bill of health, but not acting like a newborn. the staff quickly returned him to miss mother once he let out a few cries. so adorable. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

off the gold coast of australia, one whale was given a new lease on life. the 22 foot humpback accidentally got tangled in a shark net. well, luckily the whale was spotted by fishing authorities. after 40 minutes and a crew of helpers, the whale was able to untangle itself and swim away. shark nets such as these are common finds in australian waters. in austria, even gravestones are entering into the digital age. this is bizarre. a company has started etching qr codes on to grave markers as a way of remembering loved ones. the codes are scanned by a smartphone which then unlocks a plethora of memories including photos and videos. the company says this new virtal 2k34e7x allows customers to craft how their loved ones

are remembered. all right. so what would a dinosaur that's a cross between a bird, a bat and a porcupine look like? here you go. a new species of dinosaur has been discovered in a piece of rock from south africa. it's about the size of a house cat. it's terrifying looking. strangely the paleontologist who made the find says he actually discovered it in 1983 but has simply been busier with other research. i'd like to know what the other research is. >> that animation was about as cool as it gets. >> we try to impress here for you, just you. >> i want that job, the claymation. >> exactly. it's time for now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. secretary of homeland security janet napolitano will visit arizona to express her condolences to the family of a border agent killed this week. 30-year-old nicholas ivy was shot to death tuesday near the mexican border. federal investigators are investigating the possibility of friendly fire. in cupertino, california, many residents will be remembering steve jobs. the iconic apple co-founder died on this date last year of pancreatic cancer. he was 56 years old.

50 years ago today the beetles released their very first hit single, "love me do." all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. the latest buzz surrounding that reported feud between "idol" judges nicki minaj and mariah carey. and british pop star cher lloyd performs a new hot single from her u.s. debut album. and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. have a great weekend. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com